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Last Updated: Feb 13, 2017 - 1:45:37 AM |
In 2015, Chantal Bethel brought The Bahamas to Europe with an exhibition in Belgium entitled Guanahani.The show provided not only a glimpse of tropical splendour, but also explored the often ignored consequence of Columbus’ arrival in the ‘new world’—it is estimated that 40,000 indigenous people were wiped out in as little as 25 years.
Following Bethel’s success in Europe, she has been invited to continue the conversation in the Ps1 space within The National Art Gallery of The Bahamas. The show, which aims to honour the life and death of the Tainos—one of the indigenous populations encountered by Columbus—is entitled Holey Space. This is a play on words, referencing the holes found in the stones Bethel uses extensively in the show, and hallowed ground. Bethel says, “Holey Space is a sacred space dedicated to Taino consciousness, peace and love.”
The exhibition is in three parts: initially, Bethel explores her vision of the Tainos as a peaceful and proud race of people living in harmony with their environment. In part 2, Bethel depicts their subsequent decimation and references the ultimately unfruitful search for gold by Columbus. Part 3 is a memorial to the tragic consequences—the loss of life and the obliteration of a culture. As Bethel states, “My intention for this exhibition is to reclaim the truth while advocating peace.”
Focusing on the concept of truth and peace does not negate the difficulty of the topic. Bethel embraces this with a quiet elegance. The work slowly pervades. She exposes the truth, but avoids crass commentary. Instead, alongside a skillful acknowledgement of the atrocities, she offers a sensitive exploration into a culture that has been destroyed. This is both a wistful gaze towards a past of apparent simplicity and peace, along with an honest look at death, violence, pain, and avarice.
Yellow bird & Anacaona
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This balanced approach means that although clearly laying responsibility with Columbus, her method is not to shock with gory portrayals. Instead, she uses the language of the indigenous people to invite us to consider their holocaust. This includes using petroglyphs, leaves, and the holey rocks found on local beaches. “I am using holey stones because they remind me of bones, and bones remind me that thousands of Tainos were killed. These bones represent an indestructible force: the spirit of the Tainos”, continues Bethel.
Honouring this indestructible force offers us hope. And in these troubled times, hope is fundamental. Since the 12th June 2016 attack in Orlando, according to Wikipedia, there has not been a day without an act of terrorism. The world is continually lambasted by an increasing cycle of violence which is horrifying, incomprehensible, overwhelming, and numbing. Lurching from one catastrophe to another, there is hardly a moment to blow the candles out from one vigil, till we light the next. Bringing awareness to the plight of the Tainos, honouring their heritage and using their language, Bethel may also be creating a sanctuary for all massacres and acts of terrorism, irrespective of geography, language, sexuality, cultural difference or skin colour. The exhibit, using images of the past, art, and history, provides a safe lens and space to stir from a collective fugue to slowly contemplate these painful and overwhelming times.
Bethel invites the audience to participate, and by showing the ubiquity of human experience—our connection to the past, our environment, and our relationship to self and others—she succeeds in providing not only a Holey Space for a lost race and culture, but in these chaotic times, a hallowed space for everyone.
© Copyright 2016 by thebahamasweekly.com
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